Erik Erlendsson covers the Tampa Bay Lightning for The Tampa Tribune.
@ErlendssonTrib
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Posted Jan 4, 2009 by Erik Erlendsson
Updated Jan 4, 2009 at 09:51 PM
Before signing off for a couple of days, I wanted to just throw a couple of things out there following tonight’s 4-1 win in Atlanta….
* Mike Smith is the man.
* Vinny Lecavalier played a season-low 16:13 of ice time.
* Vinny Prospal played just 14:43
* Marty St. Louis played 15:37
* Andrej Meszaros earned a lot of respect playing tonight. A lot of respect.
* Did Lukas Krajicek really play 24 minutes with what essentially was eight healthy fingers?
* How does Evgeny Artyukhin play over 14 minutes and only get credit for one hit?
* Steve Eminger notched his fourth multi-point game of the season.
* Did Ilya Kovalchuk play tonight?
I likely won’t be posting anything for a couple of days. Budget cut backs at the paper mean I’m coming back to Tampa for a couple of days before catching up with the team for the games in Phoenix and Anaheim before coming back home again and missing out on the late games in Los Angeles and San Jose. If something breaks, I’ll have it. But if it looks a little quiet, don’t be alarmed.
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Reader Comments
Por (Britt) on January 04, 2009 (Suggest removal)
EE, thanks for keeping us updated with all of the news about the Bolts this crazy season (sure has been a lot of news huh?).
I agree that Smitty is the man. He continues to carry this team every night, can’t say enough about how well he has played for us. Too bad they lost his shutout with 21 seconds left, I had a feeling that would happen. Oh well though, a win is a win no matter what.
Suggest removalProps to Mezzy and Krajicek for playing banged up. I thought both played very well considering their injuries. Also have to say that I am very impressed with Smaby during his most recent call up. I’m guessing he will be staying around for a while.
Por (BOLTS RULE !!!!) on January 05, 2009 (Suggest removal)
I like the way this team battles back, they know they are having problems, they address them and move on, The Carolina game was not what we or the team wanted and they came out against the Thrashers and fixed a few of those problems. I agree with most, remove Toch’s interim, he is our head coach and I feel good one for the future. Let Roberts retire, and sign Recchi up for two more years, a contract like roberts has, incentive based so if he gets hurt or decides to retire it doesnt cost much, but the guy is great for the team, he gives it his all every shift and it shows. I am glad to see Mez back on the ice, hopefully he heals up fast, those stitches have got to hurt. Smitty is the man on goal, but he needs a day off occasionally.
Suggest removalPor (Katya) on January 05, 2009 (Suggest removal)
Smitty is the man so is Marty, he is our captain seems like a lot lately… Is there something else wrong with V4 that we don’t know about?
Suggest removalPor (Bolt Fan) on January 05, 2009 (Suggest removal)
I agree about Recchi. There are three guys that go 100% from the time they step on the ice till they step off the ice, every shift, every time - Marty, Halpern and Recchi. These are the guys with fight every second they are on the ice and should be rewarded.
I think Malone makes a better fit with Vinny and Marty than Prospal.
Props to the banged up defensemen for playing so we don’t have to go with an all-AHL defense. It’s bad enough already. That’s where we need to start over again.
Suggest removalPor (Tampafan) on January 06, 2009 (Suggest removal)
Bolt Fan - why would you say Malone would be better on the MVP line than Prospal???? Prospal is a great setup guy, battles in the corners and makes some of the best passes on the team—gets them right on the stick. Malone is someone who prefers to score. You need Malone on a 2nd line to get the scoring there.
Suggest removalPor (JK) on January 06, 2009 (Suggest removal)
Recchi goes 100%, however -17 is brutal, yea,yea,yea, +- is not an indicator. Ummm yea it is.
Suggest removalPor (Tim) on January 06, 2009 (Suggest removal)
Does anyone know where the lightning stay when they are in atlanta
Suggest removalPor (Katya) on January 07, 2009 (Suggest removal)
Tim, I dont know where they stay but I saw on delta.com you can get to Atlanta for $59 if you are not planning on driving there for the season finale!
Suggest removalPor (Katya) on January 07, 2009 (Suggest removal)
EE, I am having withdrawals ... is there any update available? I cannot wait for the game tomorrow….I guess everyone is golfing over there!
Suggest removalPor (Katya) on January 07, 2009 (Suggest removal)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3816677&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines
Suggest removal